All Feng Shao Feng, all the time. Well, sort of.

[dangermousie]

1. Have some angsty Playboy from Four Women Conflict.



I have a thing for tear wiping:



Playboy declaring he killed Lanyan's husband.




In jail, telling her he won't live without her.






Pretty pretty pretty:




OTP!




He's been made to believe she died (she needs to pretend to be dead to catch whoever is trying to kill her - i.e. puppy killer). Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.



He sort of is going photogenically insane and telling her he will marry her even though she's a corpse and that he's now just a body without a soul etc. These pics seem very relevant to the "crying men - hot, wussy, or lickable" poll question. Your verdict?





At her tomb. Puppy Killer is all "but whyyyyy don't you love me? She's dead." Seriously, someone buy this lady a clue.






2. ockoala just informed me that FSF and Yang Mi are going to play the OTP of contemporary cdrama Destiny's Concerto. Normally, modern-day cdramas are rarely my thing but I am going to give it a try just for them. Together with JPLH, its movie sequel and Legend of Tiger Amulet, that's four times they have been paired in one year (!!!!). I've seen some griping on spcnet about it (why?) but I am doing an ecstatic jig because they sort of my became my favorite drama pairing and I am so very happy to see them together again.

3. I wasn't particularly interested in Schemes of Beauty before but it's made by the same guy who made FWC and JPLH, it has FSF and Yang Mi (not as an OTP, but that is even more fun. Yang Mi's OTP in this is Four, a.k.a. Mikey He, and FSF's otp is Myolie Wu). Must check this out now - I believe viki has it. Have these two MVs for the two OTPs

Yang Mi/Mikey (thanks for finding it, hanjae:

FSF/Myolie:

4. And speaking of Yang Mi/Mikey He - I am on ep 16 of JPLH and I do believe Four might be developing feelings for our intrepid heroine. How do I know? Well, he hesitates to slit her throat while she's lying there unconscious after having taken a sword stab to save his life. He decides not to kill her (on the off chance she's somehow implicated in something against him - hello, paranoia!) despite being really tempted.





Now we know that with Four this is as good as shouting from the rooftops that it's LOVE!

5. Thanks for the heads-up, hanjae. Trailer for FSF/Yang Mi Warring States awesomesauce collab Legend of Tiger Amulet is out:

I want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

After being brainwashed by the adorable Eight in Gong, I keep forgetting how much cuter FSF can be with HAIR. And I pronounce his crying self in FWC v. v. lickable. That scene in the rain is just yum, and he actually has hair to keep some of it out of his eyes unlike in Gong where it was just running straight down, LOL.

The temporary Four/QC mush is a bit tedious, but I loved it once Four really fell for QC and she kicks him to the curb when she finds out from Su Yan that he tried to have her killed, several times. After getting shafted repeatedly, he ends up trying to work himself to death to forget her, and his delusional wife is all, "OMG I HATE THAT BITCH IT'S ALL HER FAULT" and sends 13th to do something about it. It's awesome fun.

I'm looking forward to Hu Fu Chuan Qi despite how depressing it looks; I mean, Yang Mi's character ends up marrying FSF's brother or something. And Spcnet (and a lot of English fandom, actually) gripes about anything Gong-related anyway; it's mainly the Yu Zheng hate that's spreading over to FengMi.

[ockoala.livejournal.com]

That's silly. Yu Zheng is the worst sort of hack - not an original bone in his body and shameless to boot about borrowing liberally for all his screenplays from a variety of sources. But to hate on FengMi makes no sense.

Ppl can boycott Gong on princple (also kinda silly - I watched it and didn't like it), but to transfer the dislike to the lead actors starts to feel cultish.

It's like hating on Twlight cuz Stephanie Meyer is a hack writer but then transferring the haterate on Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart for playing the characters.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's like hating on Twlight cuz Stephanie Meyer is a hack writer but then transferring the haterate on Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart for playing the characters.



And yet I've seen plenty of people do just that. Seems universal behavior.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

It is, isn't it? FSF seems to have escaped more or less unscathed; it's Yang Mi who seems to have taken the brunt of it. People have gone from, "Oh, I like her/want to see more of her!" to "I cannot stand how she's shot to stardom like this! I'm sick of her!" It's a bit baffling, really.

I completely agree that Yu Zheng's a shameless copycat and totally egotistic, but I'm kind of wishing people got over it now. The way people on forums are harping on about the matter and not being able to even talk about Gong without adding some sort of disclaimer about how they hate Yu Zheng is getting ridiculous. Gong is definitely not everyone's thing - it's far from unique, is far from a critical masterpiece and if you like your history accurate you'll probably have hysterics - but really, it's a drama. If people don't enjoy it, that's fine, but repeating it all the time like it's some sort of shield = silly.

LOL at Twilight example. Nothing truer has ever been spoken.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hey, whatever YZ's merits or flaws, at least he gave her a better role in Gong than whoever made Chinese Paladin 3 - talk about a waste of an actress and a dreadful role.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

What happened in CP3? I was warned in advance that it was crappy, so I never bothered with it. I've heard a lot of people say they liked her best in CP3 though.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

They liked her best in CP3? Which drama version did they watch and can I get my hands on it?

CP3 is in general silly and OTT and makes the YZ stuff people criticize look like Antonioni. The only way I am still keeping up with it is because I like the secondary OTP (Wallace Huo and Tang Yan) and their story - it's pretty cheesy but at least in an angsty, entertaining, delicious way.

Yang Mi and Hu Ge, the two main characters, are unbearable. Their characters are immature and OTT and so that's all you get. Either role requires no acting, let alone subtle acting. It is a sign of their immense likeability and on-screen presence that I just don't care for them/am mildly annoyed by them because if anyone else was in those roles, I'd loathe them for life.

So very very bad.

[(Anonymous)]

I think why CP3 was very immature is b/c the target audience and the source material is very different. The characterizations in CP3 originate from the game series, which work there b/c the game is sort of cartoonish (the characters were mainly in cute chibi mode) and make belief. However, once you move them to a drama, these characterizations suddenly become out of place. I still like Tang Ren productions much better than a lot of the current dramas coming out, but I agree that CP3 is one of their brainfart moments. (so excited for BBJX! solid solid casting and production! ^_^)

I recommend CP1 though. Fresh, cute, and sometimes childish (have to suspend all logic and sense of reality in a few places), but very good production and excellent OST.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I tried CP1 back when I first was getting into cdramas and, sorry, couldn't stand it, despite liking the cast. Had to bail halfway through - for me, it had the same problem CP3 did with OTT and immaturity but the effects/production values weren't as good as it was older and Hu Ge couldn't act as well yet as it was his first starring role (not that either CP1 or CP3 required much acting).

I am a rabid Hu Ge fangirl (he's my favorite cdrama actor) but not even once I run out of subbed Hu Ge stuff, am I going back to CP1. Sorry. The OST really was gorgeous though.

Wash LOCH2008 TangRen? Because if so, with that and Young Warriors, that's at least two excellent dramas they made.

Re: BBJX. I just can't get excited for it. On paper, it sounds very much like my thing, but I watch the trailers and MVs and am left cold. Some of it is casting issues (I don't think Qing style flatters LSS and Nicky Wu doesn't work for me at all. He is literally the least appealing leading drama man I've ever seen except Ryu Shiwon circa 2002) but a lot of it is it hits a few pretty idiosyncratic personal peeves of mine in the story (hint - if the ending was different (not happier, just different from what it is in some specific ways), I'd tolerate it better).

But I am going to give it a chance anyway.

[(Anonymous)]

hahaha. Maybe it's because I was a fan of the game series (played all 5), but I adored CP1, especially the Eddie Peng (mainly ignored the girl in his OTP. she literally defined the term OTT). I did FF through a lot, since I knew the plots already. But the Hu Ge and Ady pairing owned my heart for quite a while. I understand though how it can very unappealing to someone who's more mature in taste and has no previous attachments to the game series.

I didn't watch LOCH2008 (was LOCHed out during that time. still like the book the best, though have heard some good things about this adaptation. Demigods 2002 remain the best Louis Cha adaptation for me) or Young Warriors, though it looks solid from your recaps and some mvs I've watched. I've watched some of their Liao Zhai series (period fantasy miniseries), Tian Ya Zhi Nv (Weavers of the Land?), and some Guai Xia Yi Zhi Mei.

IMO, Tang Ren always do a good job of humanizing characters, writing cuteness and sweetness into a lot of heavy storylines, and always backs their dramas up with an awesome OST. They've got that period idol drama niche down and has been ever improving.

I feel like BBJX will be one of their more serious dramas, and that's why I'm excited, b/c I can see the growth of Tang Ren as a production company in this. I'm actually the most excited for Nicky Wu since he's done such a good job in portraying Four (as characterized by the novel) in the trailer so far. Not very flattering in figure or even in looks, but that becomes negligible for me as his acting and screen presence dominates.

BBJX is much more subdued and tragic when compared to Gong, and the plots and characterizations are completely different even though the concept is similar. The reason why I like it is b/c the author manages to weave actual history so well with the plot, adding her own interpretations to cryptic historical events. Chinese literature has also been used very creatively and aptly throughout the series (one of Mao's famous poems has been used by the main character to flatter the emperor Kang Xi). In that sense, it feels more like a historical drama than a period idol drama (which is what Gong is to me). Never been a fan of tragedy, but BBJX has somehow appealed to me. I'm looking forward to the lightness that Tang Ren will add to the story (the novel has been mostly tragic in tone). They do that so well.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I've never tried CP3 then; the people who liked her character there must've been either huge Yang Mi fans or very, very tolerant.

You know, that reminds me, I've never watched a complete Wallace Huo drama. That should be rectified; I just put Guai Xia Yi Zhi Mei and upcoming Qing Shi Huang Fei onto my list. Too bad this is apparently what Wallace looks like for Qing Shi Huang Fei:



Re: BBJX below, I heard the author Tong Hua gets very much involved in the casting for drama adaptations of her books. She was insisting on Du Chun as the lead of Song in the Clouds, another upcoming YZ project, which may be okay if he wasn't supposed to be playing a 21-year-old guy, LOL. I wonder whether she was also responsible for Nicky Wu's casting?

[(Anonymous)]

Wallace in CP3 was very lovable in the moments I've attempted the drama. He has redeemed the character of Chang Jing for me (hated him in the games).

That's what I've heard about Tong Hua too...although I've never really been a big fan of Du Chun (except in his very early work in Da Han Tian Zi as the young emperor). At least the age is right for Nicky as Four. I think he was in the early 30's in the beginning and around 46 when the novel ends.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

I've heard people say that Du Chun would be adequate portraying the lead in Song in the Clouds, character-wise. I'm not sure since I haven't read the novel, but perhaps they could fix the problem by lifting the ages of the entire cast? That way Du Chun won't look like Nicky Wu does in comparison to the rest of BBJX. I think the problem with poor Nicky is that although he fits the age range, the rest of the princes look so much younger than him that he looks more like their uncle - it's painfully obvious in the full cast photos when he's standing near Kevin Cheng and Yuan Hong. And then paired with 23-year-old Liu Shi Shi who looks young for her age...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It must be the Russian in me but the hulking fur doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, I want to get him a dog furcoat (they are the warmest) and a matching hat.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound bizarre but I prefer the Qing hairstyle to the FWC one. I think because I have an unhealthy crush on Eight. Either that or I've just gone blind.

So, have you been tempted to check out FWC? Such trashy goodness.

I don't mind 4/QC mush because I just know he's digging his own grave. His wife is insane btw.

Re: HFCQ looks depressing but then Warring States things always are. Or maybe I am just thinking of Three Kingdoms.

Spcnet hates Gong which is their prerogative but I adore it and FengMi to bits.

[(Anonymous)]

That's two completely different time periods. The Warring States is during 770-221 BC, while the Three Kingdoms is during 220-280 AD. But both periods are tormented by political unrest, massive amounts of scheming and backstabbing, so you're bound to have a load of tragic tales.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Whoops. I am an idiot because the earlier one was called the three kingdoms one, I believe. Oh well, I am going to pretend I meant to say any civil war era sucks :P

[(Anonymous)]

hahaha. technically it's not really civil war, since China was divided up into several legitimate and individually sovereign states. It's just that they were all trying to usurp each other that causes the problem. lol.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Well, that would get too long to cram my a snarky quick response so...

:P

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Usually I'd say you're too far gone for help if you can find the Qing style attractive (and this is from someone who grew up watching these dramas :P), but since it's Eight, it's an exception. I didn't think it was possible to adore a drama guy so much before Eight and Jae Shin in SKKS.

Your caps have been tempting me for ages! I think I might wait for Royal Harem to come out before I decide whether to try FWC though; that way I can delude myself into thinking the characters in FWC didn't totally end tragically - they just moved onto Royal Harem! /delusional thoughts

Four's wife is truly insane, yes. I keep hoping he'd stab her or something, or at least deliver an epic smackdown - seriously, he's willing to kill anyone else, I'm sure he can spare time for one more.

HFCQ = Warring States. And as for part of fandom's dislike for Gong, I can understand it as differing tastes, but I really do not care because I LOVE it. :P It might be recycled plot, but it's recycled plot executed right, and has all the elements that I like (for an example of a similar plot executed badly, see BOF). Whatever you can say about YZ, the guy has good taste in his material for "inspiration"? LOL. And he's given us FengMi, so I'd have to temper my dislike. Though his on-going love affair with Mickey He is really...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't normally find Qing hairstyle attractive - most I can say is I tolerate it - except for Eight who somehow transcends the horror and looks super-duper hot.

You don't need English subs I believe, so how about checking out Yun Niang if you want to see Ady/FSF in an angsty drama with a happy ending. I believe kitkat_cat tried it and liked it. It's made by YZ, too, I believe.

I can't believe Four is so busy he can't take the time out to poison wifey or similar.

Re: Gong. Exactly. Look at BOF - they didn't even have to worry about adding additional plot points a la JPLH which has to cram history-type stuff - they could just folow manga faithfully, and they managed to screw it up horribly.

Re: Mikey He. Well, I don't find him hot a Four, but as FWC demonstrated to me, with normal hair he's one fine-looking man so I can't blame YZ at all.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Some guys are actually unrecognizable in Qing hairstyle - see Alec Su in Huan Zhu Ge Ge. I had no idea it was him in it until recently.

Ooh, I haven't heard of that one. Ady and FSF have been paired more times than I'd thought; China really does like repeating pairings that work.

It's the same with all the adaptations of Hana Kimi so far - everything was practically written in the manga for them, and it's a tried and true formular; girl dresses as boy and stays in boy-only dorm, hilarity and romantic tension ensues! I don't know how they managed to mess it up. lightsjustright rather accurately described it as "they sucked the romantic out of it." It's incomprehensible. I'm not endorsing YZ's copycat habits, but there's a trick to good execution that was evident in Gong.

Oh, I totally understand his obsession. I mean:



I just find it hilarious that you only have to look at the cast list to know whether it's a YZ drama - if Mickey He is there, 99% chance YZ's involved. Also Yang Mi and FSF these days. It's funny how FSF was only the 3rd choice for Eight or something.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

FSF was third? I wonder who were one and two. Whatever their looks and abilities, I am glad Gong ended up with FSF as its leading man because the chemistry between Yang Mi and him (I haven't seen the like in ages) really helped make the drama.

I approve of that picture :P I don't think Mikey He has ever been in a non-YZ drama? Maybe YZ is afraid to let him out of his sight? (Who could blame him, mmmmm....)

Re: Hana Kimi. Yes. The thing is, dramaworld is littered by bad adaptations of supposedly fool-proof manga/novel material. Copy-catting, adapting, modifying - it actually takes skill to do it so it would make a coherent, entertaining, good whole.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

First choice was apparently Yan Kuan, who refused to shave off his hair and ended up playing QC's rejected modern fiancé... who funnily enough had pretty short cropped hair already, LOL. Second choice was Qiao Zheng Yu, but he didn't like the comedic aspect? YZ didn't think FSF would be good at playing the spoilt brat character, or something. He sure turned out okay. :P Though reportedly Yang Mi helped him a lot by pointing out what he was doing wrong.

It's from a photoshoot he did with FSF:


I'm so used to FSF with a bald pate that I'm still startled to see him with hair sometimes, LOL. And no, all of Mickey He's dramas have been YZ productions. YZ pretty much handed him his career; I think Mickey's debut drama was a YZ one.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

This pic is making me think of a JPLH AU in which Four and Eight are rivals in a biker gang :P

I like Yan Kuan (he was great in Da Ren Wu) but I am glad he didn't get it. Not familiar with QZY so am fine on his not getting it either :P